Top 10 Unsung Heroes: Kris Russell (6)

I admire and respect players like Kris Russell because he’s one of those guys willing to contribute what he can and do whatever it takes to win — dirty, grunt work like blocking shots and banging bodies. Russell gives you all he’s got, even if, in the eyes of some, it’s just never good enough. Then again, it doesn’t really matter what I, or those prone to discount or dismiss such attributes, think. What matters is what Russell’s teammates with the Edmonton Oilers think.

In that regard, there was no doubt what Russell’s teammates thought in the wake of his own-goal in a 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Nov. 30. Russell got righteously roasted by many after the gaffe and faced the music in the dressing room after the game. As you’d expect, teammates had his back because that’s what teammates do. It went a step beyond the norm, though, two days later when coach Todd McLellan levelled a blast at “all the analytic nerds out there” who seem to take great delight in hammering Russell every chance they get. That right there tells me how valuable Russell is to the people who matter — his teammates. Unsung hero? Damn straight.

I was going to have Russell on this list regardless of what happened against Toronto. In the name of timeliness, I’ve moved him a spot down in the aftermath of what McLellan had to say about the hard-nosed cowboy’s kid from Caroline and the over-the-top criticism he took after his Steve Smith moment. It’s not what McLellan’s words say about those who seem to make sport of kicking Russell around that stuck with me, it’s what those words say about his value to the team.

“Kris Russell is a character individual and that’s why our team cares so much about him,” McLellan said. “Whoever’s criticizing this individual probably has never played a competitive sport in their life and if they have and they’ve been perfect and that event never occurred to them, then they should be in the Hall of Fame somewhere. Mistakes happen.

“But what he means to our team — and I know all the analytic nerds out there find ways to run him into the ground — but he means a lot to our team. Every single one of those players, regardless of the goal the other night he put into his own net, will tell you that any day in any place. … so, analytics that, if you want.” The full interview is here.

I spent enough seasons inside NHL dressing rooms to know players circle the wagons when it comes to dealing with outside criticism of a teammate. The question is the degree to which it’s done — that’s where you get a real read on how any given player is regarded by his teammates and how much he is respected for his overall contribution. Russell rates as high as any player in the Unsung Hero category as anybody I’ve seen on this team in the post-Cup era — he’s up there with Mike Grier and Matt Hendricks and on and on.

As close as I was in my years on the beat, I learned that you can’t get the full measure of a player within the framework of a team solely by what happens on the ice during games and practices, even supplemented by being a regular in the dressing room, on the bus and flying on the team charter. That shouldn’t be confused with not being allowed to have an opinion and make it known — that goes for MSM people, bloggers and fans in general. It just means those takes are weighted accordingly by coaches and players who spend a lot of time together behind closed doors outsiders of all stripes are not party to.

“He’s a guy you would go to war for,” captain Connor McDavid said after the Toronto game. “He does everything for us. He throws himself in shooting lanes where most guys would be diving to get out of the way. He puts himself in harm’s way. He battles so hard each and every night . . .” Those who believe McDavid, McLellan and the teammates who have Russell’s back are somehow mistaken because what they say doesn’t align with their assessment or because they can’t (or refuse to) measure the value of the attributes he brings to the team, are welcome to that opinion. They don’t share it. Neither do I.

This series of various Top 10 lists will focus on the post-1990 Oilers – the players who haven’t played on a Stanley Cup winner in Edmonton.

At the same time, I don’t think any reasonable Oiler fan can argue that we aren’t a better team with Kris Russell on it than without.

The main issue at the time of signing was it was fairly clear that he would be passed on the depth chart by Nurse and Benning within a few years and would be relegated to the 3rd pairing – Nurse has already passed him.

The other issue is that the contract essentially blocked management from being able to improve the 2nd pairing by acquisition unless a material d-man is moved out.

With that said, giant gaffs aside (scoring on own net, falling down on a 2 on 2), Russell has played fairly well since his minutes were reduced and is playing somewhat effective hockey. He is also, from accounts, great in the room and great with the young/developing d-men.

I think he is a more effective player with the lower minutes and it also helps him add some offence which is nice to see and a bonus.

I agree with you on every point. The overpayment of a player impacts the perception of that player with a lot of people. We’ve seen it before — Horcoff etc. That overpay is on the GM, not the player. Likewise, if you have Russell in your third pairing instead of the second, you’ve got a pretty good blueline.

I think you’re mostly right, but I do disagree that the Oilers are better with Russell in the lineup, however.

Everyone is familiar with all the arguments on both sides at this point. Detractors say Kris Russell’s breakout isn’t great, he blows his coverage occasionally, his gap control is poor, and he surrenders both blueline’s too easily, allowing the opposition to break out and in without having to battle for the space. Fans say he’s an excellent shot-blocker, aggressive in the defensive zone, fairly effective at retrieving the puck/ blocking pass lanes, and is fantastic in the dressing room.

It comes down to if you think the pros outweigh the cons. For me they don’t. I know he’s a “character” guy, but has anyone ever been on a team with one of those “character” guys that everyone loved and would gladly go to war for? Has anyone ever noticed that some of them sucked? It sounds mean, but there are some people whom you love to play side by side with and stick up for, but that doesn’t mean they are good at hockey. I’m glad the Oilers are willing to go to bat for their teammate, and I hear he’s loved in the room, but the scoreboard does not have a section that displays team chumminess.

Furthermore, I get Russell can be effective in the D zone, his breakout pass is not great, but he can still help with shot suppression there, if he played a 3rd pairing, defensive zone/ penalty kill specialist role. But hockey is a 200 foot game, so I would prefer to see GMs avoid giving out roster spots to players who play such limited roles. But here’s where Russell’s play really bugs me, McLellan doesn’t coach that way. He tends to dole out Ozone, Dzone and Nzone shifts pretty evenly, which is alarming because Kris Russell is an active detriment in 2 of those 3 zones. He’s shown vast improvement offesively this year, so if he sustains that, maybe I’ll be eating my words by the ends

I know we are all sick of this argument, and I have nothing against the guy personally, but a bunch of us simply don’t think Kris Russell helps the Oilers win games. haven’t seen an argument to convince me other wise so not sure where that leaves the comment section. Just a war zone I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Agree fully. Want to point out, Russel is good with the younger Dmen… so guys like Nurse and Kleffbom develop into better D-men because of a guy like Russel (who himself is having a 4mill level season), and oiler fans are upset… we are a crazy bunch.

He’s definitely the kind of 3rd pairing guy you want in your lineup 1.5 million similar to others on this list. 4×4 with a NTC because a bonehead GM perceived him as more while media parroted his comments though.

I do think it’s funny that people complaining about his contract want Sekera and his 5.5 million tied up on the right side. If that were to happen, that’s a 5.5 million dollar man as your third pairing. And Sekera isn’t any better than Russell on the right side, on the left side however he’s miles ahead.

Way to make generalizations. Poo did not live up to his contract. That’s why he was bought out. He caught onto a different team with a very good cap hit of 1.15 million vs the 4m he made here. At 6 goals so far this year. He’s been found money for buffalo.

Russell is over paid today. Let al9me in 3 years. You add Lucic to the mix, If his performance falls off, and all of a sudden you have 10 million wrapped up on a #7 defenseman and a slow 4th liner. Intangibles be damned if you can longer pay those can contribute in your top two lines.

Russell is a NHL defensemen on any team. But at 4 million he wouldn’t be on many them. At 3m or less it opens up options.

The contracts on Chia. The criticism will always be on Russell. The player, the contract and the production are all linked to the team. To say ignore one because “it’s not his fault” is just wrong.

He is, his contract. He is, his stats, both traditional and advanced and he his his cap hit to the team. They are all symbiotic.

Most UFA’s that change teams are over paid. This is the reality for NHL teams that don’t develop properly. Marancin, Reinhart and Davidson were all waived this season which was my prediction going into the season. Contrary to the advanced stats I have yet to see either excel in the NHL on their off side. So the question is which player would be filling that hole on the roster. I know the theory is that some random right shot d-man would have signed at a cheap rate that doesn’t hold water with me.

the difference is Chia signed the Russel contract after the McDavid contract and he gave him a no movement clause overlapping with McDavid’s contract. Which means we will probably have to let go of more valuable players than Russel next off-season. If Chia doesn’t have a plan for this it was a bonehead contract. No movement clauses for bottom pairing defensemen are not good, especially when you want to sign some wingers to ride shotgun with McDavid.
Pouliots contract was too long and too rich but it was different circumstances back then.

Russell has been one of the most consistent and reliable Oilers D for the last couple years. Sure he’s used on the bottom pairing sometimes but the bottom line is he’s an impact NHL dman, not a fringe 7/8 guy.

In 2017 NHL reality that’s worth $4million a year, end of story. In analytic nerd land or EA-NHL 2017, sure I would pay pay Russell $3mil for 2 years, Lucic $5mil for 3 years and the NDP would be fiscally responsible.

Most of you nerds have been proven wrong for 2 years about Russell, you look pathetic, go on to find another goat because you’ve failed here.

Exactly, he’s far from perfect like all players, but at $4mil for a reliable dman in 2017 he is just so far off the radar of being a legitimate problem that it’s a joke to listen to these wannabe analytic guys try and pretend they understand what they’re talking about by blindly accessing a player on info they don’t understand. Stick to the cheeses and sportsnet channel and let the pros assess the players, you analytic nerds are antagonizing valuable data for the rest of the hockey community.

For the record, I am somewhat neutral on Russell. I like some of his game, dislike other parts, dislike the contract (not his fault). Do I think he is an NHL defencemen? Yes I do, despite the recent gaffs.

If he is as good in the room as everyone claims, I don’t see how that is a bad thing. The problem with analytics is that they are a lagging indicator, a measurement of past performance. Some people take that as the gospel on an indication of future performance. As Gregor recently pointed out, players rarely progress in straight lines throughout their career. We know what Russell is, and the fact that he leaves it all out on the ice is a good thing.

The other problem with analytics is you have to know how to access the data. If you’re looking to pick up a third liner and it’s a tough call who to choose beyond what they both bring to the table by watching them play, then sure, pull out the advanced stats and cross reference the stats to the video and see if the indicators lineup and maybe advanced stats can then weigh in on a tough decision. But when you have guys that haven’t played the game before taking one or two advanced stats and blindly saying a good player like Russell is bad because of this stat I found, they’re frankly butchering advanced stats. Then not to mention if you pay attention to what coaches say about advanced stats, many say that unless you know how a player is being used by the coach, that some of the stats can’t really be used. Ex. A third line can be deployed in a playing style and roll that naturally won’t lend well into say corsi, so trying to use corsi to evaluate them is irrelevant.

The “analytics community” has been giving advanced stats a bad rep for too long. I hearby declare the new name for the “analytics community” the “wannabe stats nerds”

Smart hockey people use advanced stats to supplement what they see. It’s information that should be factored in and is by NHL teams. The disconnect happens when people make arguments that begin and end, with almost everything in between, based on advanced stats.

Defenseman are very much like goalies. A terrible goalie that once in a while makes a flashy save, wins the admiration of the fans, coaches and media. But he’s still a terrible goalie, and what said terrible goalie should be doing is focusing on making safe, simple, controlled saves consistenly (although it may be boring).

He does have stretches where he does lose his positioning, but he’s also had some good stretches where he isn’t flopping all over the ice. He’s a middle tier d-man. Eberle wasn’t always a defensive liability when was on the ice, Petry was never soft as butter, Justin Schultz and Devan Dubnyk are pretty good NHL players. You would never know it from what was said about them when they played in Edmonton.

Robin I think those last comments you make nail it. Here’s an issue that nobody discusses as well;

Last year every time Woodguy was on Stauffer’s show it would be a rant about how bad Russell was. It was like clockwork. Now, this year you’d swear he was talking about an entirely different player and saying he’s playing well.

Now fluctuations in performance do happen pretty regularly in sport year to year. But watching every single game tells me that Russell’s play is roughly the same as it was. Maybe a slight uptick in jumping into plays this year, but for the most part it’s the same old steady and reliable defender we’ve come to value him for.

Tells me that that Corsi Metric in terms of validating a defensive defender is complete and utter crap. (Penalizes for shot blocks) and takes into account all shot attempts from anywhere in zone. Give me a break. I would love to be in the room on an NHL scout meeting taking this erroneous stat into argument and see for myself how very little they actually regard it.

I don’t know why everyone has so much problem with his contracts. 4×4 is not a lot for a veteran defense that is a jack of all trades player. Term is not really an issue also, NTC can be easily waived by player especially with a front load contract that the player has very little reason to not to waive the clause if such request happened from management. It is really not either overpaid nor underpaid, it is just what kind of value that he is truly worth.

Kris Russell is a professional hockey player in the best league in the world. Full stop. If you love his performance, dislike his performance, whatever, the fact remains that he is one of apporximately 700 human beings in the entire world who is paid very well to play the game at the highest possible level. That is a fact. If you, I or any other journalist, blogger, commenter or fan had the skills, abilities and every other trait that professional athletes have to be the best at what they do, we would all be in the NHL or some other professional sports league. But obviously (unless someone on here is actually a pro hockey player in disguise) some people feel they have the right to constantly slag KR, seemingly completely missing the fact that Russell must have some idea of how to play the game at the professional level since he as been in the NHL for approximately 10 years. Further, is it possible that all of the scouts, GM’s, coaches and teammates may have a better idea of what KR brings to a team than those who constantly critisize him? Maybe?
So… while I would guess that most, if not all, of us would trade places with Russell in a New York minute as we are all passionate fans, what Oilers have in KR is someone who, by the account of coaches and teammates, is someone who gives his all for the team. What more do you want?

I know have to get back to my own profession, which today, is unappealling and frustrating. Thanks for allowing me to vent.

On another note.. I’m glad macT finally ran with Connor, Leon and Ryan down the middle, seems to be working out – us “fans” and blog readers and bloggers alike have only been saying this should be done since the start of the season.. But what do we know, we’re just fans and not pro hockey coaches.. So we should have just shut up and kept our opinion to ourselves. Eh?

Ah Kris Russell: Beloved by fans and his teammates alike for his heart and grit. Undersized glue that sticks this team together in the dressing room. Blocks more shots than Supermans chest. The epitome of giving 110%. Unappreciated by the analytics community because of their stubborn focus on results.

Forget fancy stats, he’s got some good point totals this year. He’s off by 2 points for his total last year and on track for 35 in 82 games. That’s earning his keep in my mind, never mind the intangibles like blocked shots and whatnot. He’s turning into one of my favorite players, and frankly I picked him to be my goat. Good on him. That’s SIUTBOHC…to use a Brownlee term.

Russel is a key player. He can block shots all day long. Our goaltending is in need of him. He a Sekera make a dynamite duo for the next 3 seasons. He is still young. Nurse is firing up and Bear. By the end of Russel contract we will have Nurse + Bear. Kelfbom + Larson. Future looks bright

2 things:
1) Russell’s contract is top heavy so he only gets 2.5MM in his final year.
2) As of right now, he is getting paid what he deserves. He’s been arguably our third best D man behind Nurse and Larsson and has almost scored last year’s point total in 1/3 of the games. His value is also acquired through the mentorship he gives to guys like Nurse, Klef, and Benning who will be the future of this team.

I like Russel, don’t like the contract. The 4 million is not even my issue; my issue is the no trade clause. If he refuses to waive it we have to trade better players. That’s the whole issue for me. Our defense could be pretty sick if Benning improves and Sekera comes back in old form. But next season we basically have to let Maroon walk and not replace him to balance the books.

what happened in Toronto is meaningless to any argument on any side. I am not sure why we are even talking about anymore. Any reasonable person could see that it was just one of those things….regardless of where you stand on this player.

I admire and respect players like Jordan Eberle because he’s one of those guys willing to contribute what he can and do whatever it takes to win — high difficulty work like beating NHL goalies and playing 1st line RW minutes. Eberle gives you all he’s got, even if, in the eyes of some, it’s just never good enough.